Preference of Ligneous Forages by Sheep in South-East Mali

In many tropical countries, woody forage plays an important role in ruminant nutrition. Five woody species commonly used in south-eastern Mali were subjected to a preference test, in order to examine their potential of being included in the rations of stall-fed sheep. A complete randomised block (Latin square) experiment with four rams was carried out during two test periods of five days each to test the appreciation of fresh and dried leaves, respectively, of the five species. On each test day, the five species were offered concomitantly to the rams for 30 min in the morning, and the parameters of their consumption along with the nutritional value were determined. The average consumption of fresh leaves was 160.9 g, 115.8 g, 66.2 g, 11.6 g, and 5.7 g per kilogram of live weight, respectively, for Pterocarpus lucens, Entada africana, Ficus sycomorus, Pterocarpus erinaceus, and Khaya senegalensis. For dry leaves, the consumption per kilogram of live weight averaged 69.3 g, 39.3 g, 25.0 g, 8.4 g, and 3.7 g for P. lucens, F. sycomorus, P. erinaceus, K. senegalensis, and E. africana, respectively. These results indicate that P. lucens, followed by E. africana when fresh, and by F. sycomorus when dry were the most liked species and therefore show potential to be used as a feed supplement in the rations of stall-fed sheep.